KYOTO, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shimadzu Corporation (TOKYO:7701) today introduced the MCXS anti-reflective coating system and two SCI series cell inspection system models for the crystalline silicon solar cell production process.
[Background to Development]
The solar cell market is experiencing increased demand in China, which has introduced preferential policies to secure areas of demand and to cultivate local companies, in the USA and India, where good conditions are in place for solar power systems, and in Japan, which has started feed-in tariffs for renewable energy. In the long term, huge increases in energy demand due to economic growth and improved living standards in developing countries are expected to increase demand for solar energy in regions with good insolation conditions, including Africa, the Middle East, South America, and South-East Asia. By 2030, it is predicted that the total output will increase to 128,600 MW, which is 3.2 times the 2012 level.*1
This situation demands lower manufacturing costs and high resistance to
Potential Induced Degradation (PID), which can cause problems of reduced
output from megasolar and other solar power systems.
These issues
must also be resolved for the anti-reflective coating and associated
deposition systems that suppress the reflection of sunlight and enhance
energy absorption to contribute to enhanced power generation efficiency,
and a high level of performance and productivity is demanded from them.
Shimadzu
has adopted a newly developed hollow-cathode plasma source and the
direct plasma method to create the MCXS plasma CVD system, which is
capable of forming anti-reflective coating that are highly resistant to
PID at high throughput and low running costs. By terminating crystal
defects on the surface and inside of the substrate with a high-density
plasma and improving the performance of solar cells, this system
contributes to a higher conversion efficiency.
Thanks to the high
rate deposition achieved by the low-frequency, high-density plasma,
crystalline silicon solar cell modules produced by the MCXS system offer
high PID resistance. This has been proved by the verification results
from the Phase II Consortium Study on Fabrication and Characterization
of Solar Cell Modules with Long Life and High Reliability, conducted by
the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST).
On the other hand, the competition for solar cell quality is becoming
ever more severe. To achieve more stringent quality control while
increasing productivity, there are strong demands to automate the
inspection processes that are currently performed manually at the solar
cell production stage.
To meet these demands, Shimadzu has
developed the new SCI-8SM Compound Inspection System, which performs
simultaneous inspections of microcracks and wafer appearance in a single
system, and the SCI-8S Exterior Inspection System, the most compact
instrument in the field*2.
These inspection systems help
avoid lengthy production halts due to production line stoppages and
contribute to enhanced yield.
Through the introduction of these three systems into the ever-expanding solar cell market, Shimadzu is contributing to the widespread adoption of environmentally friendly renewable energy.
*1: Investigation by Fuji-Keizai; *2: Investigation by Shimadzu
[Features of MCXS]
1. Proof of High PID Resistance
These tests conducted by
AIST were performed for 168 hours at 25 °C, with the module cover glass
immersed in water, and at 1,000 V. The results indicate no drop-off in
output from solar cell modules manufactured using deposition by the
Shimadzu system.
This product contributes to the supply of highly
reliable solar cells.
2. Contribution to Enhanced Solar Cell Production Capacity
The
newly developed hollow-cathode plasma source generates high-density
plasma that improves the decomposition efficiency of the source gas and
achieves the highest deposition rate (at least 100 nm/minute) by the
direct plasma method in the industry. Furthermore, the inline high-speed
transport mechanism achieves a throughput of over 1,700 wafers per hour,
higher than that of any other conventional system in the class, to
contribute to higher production capacity of the overall production line.
3. Lower Cost
As well as high-speed deposition and compact
system design achieved by vertical substrate loading, the system also
reduces the upkeep and maintenance expenses through longer maintenance
periods, one-third the power consumption of previous systems, and half
the running costs. That is, it is an energy-saving manufacturing system
that reduces the energy costs associated with solar cell manufacture and
improves the efficiency of source gas use.
[Features of SCI-8SM]
1. Simultaneous Rapid Inspections of Microcracks and Wafer Appearance
The
SCI-8SM inspection system is a single system that handles various
inspections and measurements previously performed by separate test
instruments, including microcrack inspections (fine cracks in the wafer
that adversely affect the conversion efficiency and crack rate during
production), wafer external inspections for cracks or bumps, inspections
for particles on the anti-reflective coating, and film-thickness and
distribution measurements. It offers rapid measurement times of less
than one second per wafer.
2. Quicker Film-Thickness Measurements
Conventional
instruments used multiple standard samples to perform film-thickness
measurements. This required over five hours' preparation time before
measurements could start, including creating the calibration curve. The
SCI-8SM employs calculation techniques developed according to a unique
measurement principle based on optical theory and enables rapid
calculation of film thickness from the reflection intensity of visible
light. This feature permits immediate measurements without the need for
any preparation time.
[Features of SCI-8S]
Most Compact Instrument in the Industry
A unique, specially
developed optical system that minimizes the aberration offers the same
high functionality as the SCI-8SM but is 15 % more compact (by volume)
than conventional instruments in its class. It is the most compact
exterior inspection system in the industry.
It can be installed on
a new production line or retrofitted in a restricted space on an
existing production line to improve wafer quality.
Names: | ||
MCXS Plasma CVD System for the Deposition of Anti-Reflective Coating on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells | ||
SCI-8SM Compound Inspection System for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells | ||
SCI-8S Exterior Inspection System for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells | ||
Prices: | ||
MCXS | 170 million yen (including automatic transport mechanism, tax not included) | |
SCI-8SM | 10 million yen (including lighting power supply, tax not included) | |
SCI-8S | 5 million yen (including lighting power supply, tax not included) | |
Dimensions: | ||
MCXS | W4,000 x D7,500 x H2,500 mm (main unit, including automatic transport mechanism) | |
SCI-8SM | W306 x D310 x H951 mm (main unit, including lighting power supply) | |
SCI-8S | W193 x D193 x H315 mm (main unit, lighting power supply not included) | |
For more details, visit this page: MCXS, SCI series
About Shimadzu Corporation
Founded in 1875, Shimadzu Corporation, a leader in the development of advanced technologies, has a distinguished history of innovation built on the foundation of contributing to society through science and technology. Shimadzu maintains a global network of sales, service, technical support and applications centers on six continents, and has established long-term relationships with a host of highly trained distributors located in over 100 countries.